(The Center Square) – Spokane is considering creating a fire protection district with a separate funding stream from the city’s property and sales tax levies to address $100 million in unfunded capital needs.
While the Spokane City Council was first briefed on Monday, budget officials said that establishing a fire protection district, or FPD, would offer financial stability and autonomy for city fire services.
However, it also means taxpayers would pay the city the same amount while also funding the creation of an FPD.
Spokane County has several independent, voter-approved FPDs that oversee specific regions, whereas the Spokane Fire Department operates within local city limits under the mayor and council’s oversight.
Council Budget Director Kate Fairborn said as a city department, SFD competes for funding with police, libraries, and other general fund departments. Establishing an FPD would give the agency its own levy, budget, and oversight board, allowing taxpayers to see how much they’re paying and where it’s spent.
“[SFD] relies on a fluctuating general fund revenue and is facing more than $100 million in unfunded six-year capital needs,” Fairborn said Monday. “With a dedicated property tax levy and the option for fire benefit charges, the ability to stabilize their revenue and plan ahead could definitely be enhanced.”
State law allows FPDs to impose fire benefit charges on top of a regular property tax levy to generate additional revenue. The difference is that a property tax levy is based on assessed value, whereas a benefit charge is based on the building’s size, use and fire risk, so some owners pay more than others.
That uncertainty led to concerns voiced by Councilmember Michael Cathcart.
“The [state law] seems to be pretty open to interpretation, at least from my view of what could be a factor included in how those fire benefit charges are applied,” Cathcart said.
“I’m very fearful that it would be used as a way to do a backdoor mandatory fire sprinkler sort of policy for single-family townhomes,” Cathcart continued, citing a resolution that the council passed in 2014 to formally oppose a state proposal that would’ve required sprinkler systems in new townhouses.
Like the city, FPDs can also impose EMS levies with voter approval and impact fees on new growth.
Mike Walker, who sits on the board of the Spokane Firefighters Union, said the cost of fire engines have doubled in recent years and breathing apparatus must be tested and replaced on a regular schedule.
SFD tries to plan for replacing these and other assets, but the city tends to spend whatever is set aside.
“All the money gets put into an account, and we try to prepare for that,” he said, “then it gets taken.”
The council gave the city’s own fire department $163 million to spend in the 2025-26 biennial budget.
Spokane Fire Chief Tom Williams offered support for exploring the idea when weighing in on Monday.
“Obviously, as a fire chief, a stable budget and capital fund is pretty exciting,” he said. “Being a part of a city is also important, and interacting with everybody that we serve. With that being said, I would support digging deeper into this … just to get a much clearer understanding of where it’s at.”
Fairborn said that if the council wants to establish a single-city FPD, there are a few steps they must take.
First, the council must pass a resolution stating its intent to explore the idea, then it must develop a detailed financing plan and governance structure, before putting it on the ballot for voters to decide.
Fairborn said one of the benefits of establishing an FPD is that it doesn’t decrease Spokane’s statutory tax authority like other fire authorities; however, that means taxpayers continue to pay the same amount to the city, while also paying additional taxes to fund the FPD’s startup and annual operations.
Council President Betsy Wilkerson said before the city continues exploring the idea, she wants to hire a consultant to outline the next steps, noting that this type of thing isn’t within Fairborn’s scope of work.
“I think that is out of her lane, as she spoke to the legalities of some of this going forward,” Wilkerson said Monday. “So, if council really wants to go down this road, then we should talk about a consultant to really work with [SFD] and us for the next phase or the next step of this work going forward.”
Funding for such a consultant could reach the council for a vote over the coming weeks and months.
